


the longest two weeks

by 911gallavich



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck comforts him, Eddie misses Chris, Fluff, M/M, Sad Eddie, Summer Camp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:34:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24384382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/911gallavich/pseuds/911gallavich
Summary: eddie caves and lets chris go to summer camp  however, now that chris is gone, he’s lonely, luckily he’s got a best friend who knows just what to do
Relationships: Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 212





	the longest two weeks

Eddie didn’t want to say goodbye, he really didn’t want to do it. He hadn’t been away from Christopher for this long ever since Afghanistan, and that’s not something he likes to think about. But Chris had begged him to go, for a month. He was so excited and had read things online, Eddie couldn’t say no to him. He wanted to give his kid everything he could. He wanted him to have a normal childhood experience, even if his kid is anything but normal. 

However, he also wasn’t ready to give his son away to some strangers for two weeks. 

What if something happened to him?

What if he got homesick? 

What if the kids made fun of him?

These were going to be the longest two weeks of his life. 

“Alright buddy, you sure you have everything packed? You didn’t forget anything?” Eddie asked as he smoothed a hand over his head. 

“Nope! I’m good!”

“And you’re sure you want to go? You haven’t changed your mind? You know I won’t be mad at you.”

“No daddy, I promise. I’m so excited!”

“Alright, well remember to be on your best behavior okay, listen to the grownups.”

“I will,” Chris said as he pulled off his backpack. “Wait! I have something for you.”

He handed Eddie a card and watched as his dad read it. 

“Thank you mijo, I love it,” he said, tears in his eyes. He picked Chris up into a long, tight hug. “I’m going to miss you buddy.”

“I’ll miss you too,” Chris said as Eddie set him back on the ground. 

Eddie watched as Chris and the last few students boarded the bus, waving goodbye as it pulled away, trying to keep the tears from falling. 

He slowly makes his way back to his truck, rereading the card in his hands a few more times before finally pulling out of the parking lot. 

••••••

Before he even knows it, he is putting his car in park, but he’s not at home. He’s at Buck’s apartment, with no memory of driving there. Like he did it on autopilot. All he remembers is leaving the parking lot where he dropped Chris off, and then he’s here. 

He doesn’t have the energy to think about what that means, and he’s definitely not going to overthink it later on. Definitely not. 

He debates on going upstairs to see Buck. He doesn’t want to bother him, doesn’t want to intrude on his day off. But on the other hand, he really doesn’t want to go home to an empty house quite yet. Especially as he spots Chris’s card in the seat next to him. 

He makes his way up to the third floor, stepping off the elevator, still debating on whether he should turn around or not. He’ll see if Buck is home and wants to hang out, if not he’ll go home and wallow by himself. 

He knocks on Buck’s door, and there’s nothing. He can’t hear any movement inside, which is odd because he thought he saw Buck’s jeep in the lot. Eddie waits another ten seconds before giving up and turning around. 

He’s about three steps from the elevator when he hears the door open behind him. 

“Eddie? What’s up?” says a voice behind him. 

Eddie turns around to find his best friend standing there. In a towel, hair dripping down his bare chest. He definitely doesn’t check him out. 

“I, uh,” he stumbles before pulling himself together. “I don’t even know to be honest with you.”

“Alright well, come inside. I’ll go get dressed and then we can talk, sound good?” 

Eddie nods, follows Buck back into his apartment, definitely not starring at him as we shuts the door behind them. 

“Make yourself at home, I’ll be down in a few.”

Eddie takes a seat on the couch and just closes his eyes for a minute. He misses his son, but he knows this is good for him. He also doesn’t want to even begin to analyze why his body seemed to go straight to Buck for comfort. Doesn’t want to think about what that might mean. 

He’s spiraling deeper and deeper into his mind when his focus is pulled away by a hand on his shoulder. 

“You good? I was calling your name,” Buck says as he comes around to sit on the couch as well. 

“Yeah, yeah sorry. Zoned out for a minute.”

Buck waited a moment, thinking Eddie would explain. Once it was clear that he was going to have to pull it out of him, he sat up. 

“So, what brings you here? I know you said you didn’t know but...”

“I uh, I just dropped Chris off at camp for two weeks. I ended up here.”

When he mentions the last part, he sees Buck’s face shift. He can’t tell what it is that’s there, but it looks like a combination of pride and happiness. 

“Well, in that case,” he says as he claps his hands. “Initiate Distraction Protocol. I’ll go grab us some beer from the fridge and order us a pizza, you find a good movie to watch.”

Buck heads into the kitchen before Eddie can even get a word out. 

Buck knows that Eddie doesn’t necessarily want to talk about it, or discuss the fact that he doesn’t want to be alone right now. He just senses that this is what needs to happen next, a subtle distraction. 

They spend the next three hours watching movies and eating way too much pizza. Buck insists that Eddie crash with him tonight, because of the beer. 

Both of them know it’s so that Eddie doesn’t have to be alone tonight. 

No one mentions it though. 

Eddie hates to admit it but although he misses his son, he does end the night with a smile. 

_ One day down, thirteen more to go.  _

••••••

The next two days him and Buck both have a few staggering shifts. Both starting and ending at different times. 

While he works, it’s not so bad. He forgets for a little while that Chris isn’t just with Abuela or Carla. 

Once he gets home he remembers, and that’s when it sucks. He does any and all house hold chores he can just to fill up his time. He doesn’t think the house ever looked that clean. 

He’s in the middle of reorganizing his plates and bowls when there’s a knock on the door. 

Realistically there’s only a few people it could be but it still surprises him when he opens the door to see a smiling Buck. 

“Hey Eddie, are you busy?”

“Not really, come on in.”

Buck follows him into the kitchen where he sees just about every dish and cup Eddie owns strewn across the counters. 

“So, um, what’s going on here?” Buck says, stifling a chuckle. 

“I’m reorganizing,” Eddie says as if it was the most common thing in the world. 

“Yeah but, Eddie. This is like professional level deep clean, you opening a business? Trying to see what sparks joy?” he asks as he hands a few bowls over to Eddie. This time he outright laughs, which brightens Eddie’s mood. 

“Very funny,” Eddie says as he picks up a few plates, putting them away. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can to keep busy.”

Buck seems to catch on quickly and he jumps in before the mood can drop. 

“That’s kinda why I was here,” he says, suddenly looking timid. 

Eddie’s always found that look kind of adorable on the usually all-confident Evan Buckley, not that he’d ever admit that. 

“I heard there was a new burger place that just opened up downtown and was wondering if you wanted to go?”

Buck almost sounded nervous. 

“New burger place huh?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah, I don’t know if you’re too busy and I didn’t mean to spring this on you, but I figured it might be nice to get out of the house for a bit.” 

He puts the last few dishes away, considering it. 

“It would be amazing,” he says. 

_ Three days down, eleven more to go.  _

••••••

When a full week hits him it was brutal. While he was excited that he was halfway there, he really missed his son. This was the longest he had ever been away from him since he was in Afghanistan. 

He hates that he can’t just walk into the next room and see his son’s beautiful smile. Can’t hear him giggle at one of Buck’s stupid jokes. 

He just misses his goddamn son. 

And as if Buck knew, he showed up. 

Not because Eddie called him, not because he was asked. 

Because he somehow knew that Eddie needed him. 

And while he appreciated the effort Buck was making tonight, he really didn’t feel like being social. He kind of just wanted to sit on the couch and watch a Disney movie, make him feel like Chris was there. 

“Let’s go out, the usual spot.”

“Not tonight, I think I’ll just stay home tonight.”

“No, come on. Let’s go out, it’ll be good for you.”

“Listen, Buck. I really appreciate it, man I do. Everything you’ve done this week, it means a lot. I just don’t really feel up to it tonight.”

“Eddie...” Buck whispered as he sat down. 

“I miss him Buck. Like I really, really miss him. Nothing feels right without him here, like I’m starting to physically feel him missing, you know?”

“I know Eddie, I know. I miss him too,” he says as he places a warm hand onto Eddie’s knee. 

They sit in silence for a minute, Buck’s thumb rubbing slowly across his knee. 

“How about this, we stay in. Movie night? I’ll make some popcorn? Maybe even some of my famous hot cocoa?”

At that Eddie snorted, everyone knew that Buck’s “famous hot cocoa” was just boxed hot chocolate with a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

Buck only said it to get a laugh out of him. 

“Don’t worry about it, you go out and have fun,” Eddie said as Buck got up and made his way towards the kitchen. “I don’t wanna be a buzzkill, I’ll stay here.”

“Sorry Eddie, I can’t hear you! I’m too busy making my famous cocoa and popping popcorn!” 

Eddie rolled his eyes, getting up to meet him in the kitchen. 

“Seriously Buck, you go ahead, I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will, but I’m staying. I want to. Promise, boy scout honor.”

Eddie was about to protest when Buck pushed him into the living room with instructions to pick a movie and a “let the chef do his magic”. 

And while nothing felt right without Chris home, he would say it didn’t feel half bad with Buck there with him. 

_Seven days down, seven more to go._

••••••

Tonight, Chimney had announced that they were in dire need of a family hangout. They hadn’t been together in weeks, and it was damn well time. 

Him and Hen had been bickering while eating dinner and finally came to a conclusion, tonight was karaoke night. 

Everyone had agreed with varying levels of excitement, all texting their significant others about the plans. 

What Chimney hadn’t announced was that it was Buck’s idea to have a family night, saying they needed it. Both of them knew that by “they” Buck only mean one person. The whole team knew that Eddie was missing his kid, and that Buck was filling up every spare moment to keep him company. 

Buck found Eddie in the locker room at the end of shift. 

“You’re coming tonight right? Please don’t leave me alone with all the couples.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there. I miss hanging out with everyone.”

“Good, we’re going to a nice place,” Buck said. 

And at the confused look on Eddie’s face he continued. 

“One time when Maddie and Chim were dating before they knew they were dating, we went out to a karaoke bar. They sang duets like all night. We’re in for a treat.” 

And that they were. They all arrived at roughly the same time, getting a few tables close together. They ordered a round of drinks and before they knew it, songs were being sung. 

Maddie and Chim sang a couple duets, Karen and Hen sang one, Bobby and Athena politely declined. They even managed to convince Buck up onto stage for a slightly off key rendition of “Eye of the Tiger”, which brought a goofy smile to both his and Eddie’s face. 

And if Buck had been glued to Eddie’s side all night no one mentioned it, but everyone knew. 

_Nine days down, five more to go._

••••••

Two more days, only two days left until he could see his son again. 

He couldn’t be more excited. 

However, today he was off, which meant he was home. Alone. 

He was about to mope around the house, doing chores here and there before he received a cryptic and alarming text from Buck. 

** b: “need help. come quick. i’m dying.” **

And to say he broke a few speeding laws on his way over would be an understatement. He flew into Buck’s apartment as soon as he got a hand on the door. 

“Buck? Buck what’s the ma-“ 

At the sight in front of him he stopped short. 

“Buck what’s going on?”

He was laying on the floor, surrounded by pieces of wood and scattered screws. He looked helpless. 

“I bought a shelf from Ikea. I can’t figure it out. It’s defeated me Eddie.” 

Eddie was going to kill him. 

“Buck I was so worried! You can’t send a text like that and not expect me to freak out. I thought you were actually dying!”

“Eddie I am dying. The Kallax has beaten me. That’s what this thing is called Eddie, this demon contraption has a name.” 

A child, Eddie was dealing with a toddler. 

But the way Buck said it, the honesty and seriousness in his voice, Eddie could feel his heart burst. 

“Alright, I’ll help you. But only because you’re basically helpless and I’ve built stuff like this before.” 

Buck sat straight up, a look of hope on his face. 

“My hero! I’ve been saved!”

_ Twelve days down, two more to go.  _

•••••• 

This is it, Chris comes home today. 

He was getting ready to leave house, getting ready to finally have his son back. 

He was out the door, headed for his truck. Only one more stop until he could finally breath again. 

Twenty minutes later, Buck hops into the passenger seat of his truck and they’re off. 

“I’m so excited, I can’t sit still,” Buck said as Eddie pulled out into the street. 

“You missed him?”

“Are you kidding me Eddie? So much. Let’s be honest, he is the cooler of the two Diaz boys. I need my buddy back, I miss ganging up on you.” 

Eddie can’t help but to laugh along with him. 

Half an hour later, they finally see the bus pull into view. Eddie feels his breath catch in his throat. 

This is it, two weeks are finally up. 

The kids file off the bus one by one, and of course Chris has to be one of the last few. 

The second his kid steps off that bus, Eddie takes off running. 

“Daddy!”

“Hey buddy,” Eddie says, picking up his son into a crush hug. “I missed you so much mijo!”

He’s still holding Chris in a hug, he can feel tears start to pool in his eyes. 

“I missed you too, a lot,” Chris says as he giggles. 

And god Eddie missed that sound. He finally can feel himself breath again. 

After another full minute, Eddie puts him down. That’s when Chris notices that they have company. 

“Buck’s here!” he shouts as he runs as fast as he can, crashing into Buck. 

“Hey superman, I missed you!”

“I missed you too Buck!”

“Man am I glad you’re back, I was starting to get tired of this one over here,” he said pointing towards Eddie, Chris giggling. “I kept beating him in video games, I need my partner back.”

And so the teasing begins, but Eddie wouldn’t have it any other way. 

They walk down the street to a little diner, dropping Chris’s stuff in the truck, at his insistence that he neededto tell them both about camp immediately. 

The second they’re sitting in the booth, after ordering their meal, Christopher is off. He’s telling them everything he did, start to finish. 

“We did science experiments and played music. And-and we played games and I went swimming. I even made four new friends! Look we have friendship bracelets!” 

Chris holds up his arm, and there are about twenty handmade bracelets on his wrist. 

“Four new friends huh buddy?” Eddie asks and Chris nods while taking a sip of his juice. 

“Mr. Popular over here! That’s more friends than your daddy has Chris,” Buck fake whispers, which causes Christopher to lose it. 

The rest of the meal is spent listening to Chris, and everything he did while at camp. Eddie joins the conversation every once in a while, content to just sit back and watch. 

Before long, they’re back in the truck on the way home. Chris has fallen asleep about two minutes into the car ride. 

“Man he’s out, must be exhausted,” Buck says as he looks at Chris slumped over in his seat, Eddie hums in agreement. 

They sit in silence for about ten minutes before Eddie breaks it. 

“Listen...thank you Buck.”

“For what?” Buck asks, genuinely confused. 

“For everything. For being there for me these past two weeks, making sure I had company. I really appreciate it.” 

“Don’t worry about it, it was fun.”

“Still, just- thank you,” Eddie says making eye contact, trying to show him how much it actually means to him. 

The rest of the ride is sat in comfortable silence. Buck carries Chris inside, and they both put him to bed. 

Then, the two of them head back to the living room, and order a pizza. This time, however, it’s for three. 


End file.
